Happy Monday! School and work started back today and oh man, I’m really wishing I was back in Mexico right now haha. BUT only two months left of school so I’m ready to grind it out. Josh and I spent the majority of our Spring break on a 5 day cruise going to Mexico. It was both of our first cruises and boy was it quite the experience haha. I had SO much to say about our 5 day cruise that I decided to round it up into a post and share with you all in case you’re thinking about booking your first cruise or want to know what we thought. I figured I would break it down by day and go from there.
Day 1- Galveston and board the ship.
We got on the boat around 2pm and we anchored away around 3:30pm. We of course went with a group of friends so we sat at a really nice bar on Deck 5 called the Alchemy bar. They had the best drinks, my favorite was the cucumber sunrise. As soon as I could feel that we were moving and looked out to the window, I got SO dizzy. I got even more dizzy when I started walking on the boat and looked out to see us moving. I felt really uncomfortable like I might would pass out so I immediately took a dramamine. THANK GOD we bought a tube of this before we got on the ship. I would 100% make sure you have this… our friends had these really awesome patches for motion sickness they put behind their ears the whole trip and I wish we would’ve grabbed those too. After about an hour though my head and body adjusted to the movement and I was completely fine.
Something we learned last minute about the first day is that if you buy the drinking package, it is NOT included in the first day. Beware, drinks are expensive (each of my cocktails are $10-$15 a piece). We spent a good $60 between Josh and I in just drinks the first few hours were on the boat. After touring and getting our bearings down for the boat and figuring out what was on each deck, it was time for dinner. I MOST DEFINITELY recommend the late dining. At first our friends were doing this and I wasn’t too keen on it because I personally eat dinner around 5 or 6pm each night. But as I sat through our week, I felt SO thankful we had that later dining because between how busy each day is, docking at new places, and physically NEEDING an afternoon nap before dinner, there was no way we would’ve made it to the 6pm early dining. Around 4pm each day I typically headed to the dining hall area and grabbed a piece of pizza to hold me over.
Day 2- Fun Day at Sea
This day was so much fun. We were in international waters and the temperature was perfect. We got up early to go lay out and our friends joined us later as we just drank, ate, and lounged our day away. We spent ALL of our time in the Serenity 21+ lounge. It had a whirlpool, awesome outdoor bar, and comfy pool chairs and couches we laid in while we sunbathed. I just have to mention that thank the lord these cruises have a dedicated adult area. There was also another adult only pool towards the back of the boat that we spent time in.
I absolutely adore kids. I babysat/nanny’ed all of high school, and worked at a daycare my second year of college for a year. I loved it all and the precious kids. I did not love the amount of kids on our boat. I completely understand now though why so many parents bring their children on these cruises haha. It’s safe and they can lounge by the bar while the kids run around aimlessly. The main pool area blared Frozen and played PG movies all day while children ran back and forth from the ice cream self serve to their seats. It was A LOT BUT, I thought the 5 day cruise would be SO MUCH FUN for kids. I wish my parents would’ve taken us on one because there was way more to do for kids. They had their own sections, little “kid clubs”, night time outdoor movies, like I was low key jealous they had all this fun stuff going on haha! If you have kids, this would be such a fun trip for you all!
Outside of laying around, we ate burgers from Guy Fieri’s stand (so good!), checked out the spa, and went to dinner. Dinner is so much fun and the staff is incredibly friendly. I though it was extremely cool how every staff member is literally from all over the world. Our favorite bartender was from India, our waitress at dinner was from Croatia, our steward was from Indonesia and they just had incredible stories as to why they work on the boat and how they got there. I think that was one of my favorite parts. They are amazingly kind and really great at what they each do. That night, our friends were all about the casino (Josh and I aren’t gamblers) but we had so much fun watching them!
Day 3- Cozumel
This was definitely my favorite day. I loved getting off the boat and seeing Cozumel. Excursions are quite expensive and we were trying to keep this trip as cheap as possible so we booked a beach club with everyone. It was called Mr. Sancho’s Beach Club and this place was amazing! They had a kids side with fun blow up slides and courses in the ocean and then a more adult side with a pool and bar. It was all inclusive food and drinks for just $50 all day. We sat at a table on the beach and ran back and forth from the pool to the ocean. Our waiter was AMAZING too and constantly made sure we were enjoying our time. They also offer other fun things to do on the beach like water ski jets, ATV’s, etc.
On our way back to get back on the boat, we stopped by a really fun bar called Fat Tuesday that was right next to where our boat was docked. They blared some typical rap music and was jam packed with college students. We jammed out and enjoyed our last hour in Cozumel!
That night, we napped, ate dinner, and I was so exhausted that I went to bed. The ship that night was going through some really bad waves and I am not kidding when I would walk I would literally fall. You just swayed heavily back and forth and after an hour, I was incredibly sea sick. I couldn’t sleep until 4am and it was my worst night. Josh couldn’t sleep either but he didn’t get sick. Most people on our ship had been on cruises before and every time I asked they said our ship was the most they’ve ever felt the ship move on a cruise so I’m wondering if it was just ours!
Day 4- Progreso/ Yucatan
We didn’t plan anything for Progreso as we were just going to explore the city and see where it takes us. We took a little bus to town and a tour guide came on and told us about this beach club about 45 mins away and it sounded just like what we did in Cozumel so we went for it! Our tour guide was so nice and we drove to this hotel and it was all inclusive drinks and food with two pools and the ocean. It was a blast and we really found that these beach clubs were the best option for our group. Everyone was so nice and this day was a blast. You have to be back on the boat around 5:30pm and we all napped and then went to dinner. Such a great day!
Day 5- Fun Day at Sea
After the last two days, everyone slept in LATE this day. I think we made it out for breakfast at 12:45pm and then realized we had to get lunch haha. We lounged all day outside by the pool but it was super windy and chilly so I just read my book with pants and a pullover on top of my bathing suit haha.
The day after we docked in Galveston and we off the boat by 10am! This trip was a BLAST with friends but I can’t say I’ll ever go on a 5 day cruise again. I think its a wonderful option for families though!
The last thing we learned: Cruises are more expensive than what they put off. SO many things add up and drinks on the boat are overpriced. We could’ve stayed a week in Cancun with the total amount spent. It was so worth it but we definitely learned. I would just double check all of the charges and know what to expect when you’re planning.
Do you have a cruise planned!? Thanks so much for reading! xx
P.S. We vlogged this whole trip and I’m hoping to have that video on my channel sometime this week! 🙂
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